The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on December 3 clinched 7 of the 12 wards in the high-stakes Delhi MCD bypolls, consolidating its grip over the Municipal Corporation of Delhi even as it fell short of earlier tallies. Counting began at 8 am, and results rolled in swiftly, setting off political ripples across the capital.
The BJP secured victories in Dwarka B, Vinod Nagar, Ashok Vihar, Greater Kailash, Dichaon Kalan, Shalimar Bagh B, and Chandni Chowk, strengthening its position in the 250-member House. The party, however, suffered losses in Sangam Vihar A and Naraina seats it had held since 2022 illustrating pockets of voter discontent.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which rules Delhi, managed to win just three seats Naraina, Mundka, and Dakshinpuri including two that slipped from the BJP’s grasp. The Congress recorded a significant morale-boosting win in Sangam Vihar A, while the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) created history by winning Chandni Mahal for the first time.
A total of 51 candidates, including 26 women, were in the fray across 12 wards, making the contest crucial for all parties ahead of the April 2025 mayoral polls. With these bypoll results, the BJP’s tally in the MCD stands at 122, still four short of the majority mark of 126. AAP’s strength drops to 102, Congress sits at 9, the AIFB opens its account with 1, while the breakaway Indraprastha Vikas Party (IVP) formed by 16 defected AAP councilors retains its bloc.
The biggest upset of the bypolls emerged from Chandni Mahal, where AAP had won with the highest margin in 2022 but plunged to third place this time. AIFB’s Mohammad Imran, backed aggressively by former AAP MLA Shoaib Iqbal, defeated both AAP and BJP candidates by 4,592 votes, marking the Forward Bloc’s first-ever seat in the MCD.
The seat had fallen vacant after AAP’s Aaley Mohammad Iqbal became an MLA from Matia Mahal. AAP fielded Muddasir Qureshi, while BJP put up Sunil Sharma. But the game changed when Shoaib Iqbal exited AAP in November after being denied a ticket for his preferred candidate campaigning wholeheartedly for Imran and flipping the seat.
BJP’s Anita Jain pulled off the biggest victory of the bypolls in Shalimar Bagh B, winning by 10,101 votes. The seat had been held by former Mayor Rekha Gupta before her assembly win.
In Greater Kailash, BJP’s Anjum Mandal scraped through with a narrow 365-vote margin. The party also recaptured Chandni Chowk from AAP with a margin of 1,182 votes, signalling renewed strength in old Delhi areas.
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